The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-03-27
THE EMPIRE OF MONACO.
Mediterranean'sL Little Gambling Principally
An Indianian in the Great kursaal.

Me0Iterrdnedn s LtLtlo UdIHciilS IIlHCipdlity
An Indianian in the Great kursaal.
Hon. A. G, Harris has written friend a let
ter, dated Genoa, Italy, March 8, descriptive OF
his visit to San Monaco:
We came down here this afternoon and found
it an interesting old town. find u. Colompo
was not born here, but fifteen miles up the coast
at a little village. But they have a. oeautnul
marble statue of him in a plaza. The city Is
full of all kinds of interesting things. Streets
so narrow that there is not room enough Tor
vehicle and so steep that nothing but man OF
donkey climb them. We went from Nice
down to Monte Carlo Let me tell you the story.
Over eight hundred years ago king gave one
of his friends ''principa!ity" on the banks OF
the sea. 1t was not very big then. Every
now and then it was lessened,, until
is three and half miles long and not
one and half mile wide The mountains
come down the sea, that there is no land
except rocky hillside. The 'Grimaldi" family
have held this little principally ever since the
gift have mentioned.
About twenty-fv years ago the king grant
ed a monopoly" franchise to gamble to some
people whose names l do not now remember
Finally NJ. Blanc bought the monopoly He
built a most beautiful casino, theater, etc. lie
laid out some three or four acres into park
Hotels arose. People came. Of course the
bank won their money. Everything began to
boom" The town was rebuilt The streets
were paved with asphalt and filed with gas
lights. More came. and more left their money
So that in seventeen years NJ. Blanc died
worth So 000O 900, after giving millions away and
using other millions in reducing rugged hills TO
verdant beauty. never saw pretty park.
Ali the rare plants OF five continents are here
We started to count the kinds of trees, but gave
it up. hundred varieties of flowers are now
in bloom. The view of the Mediterranean is
charming The whole is a little fairyland
I svfn m N C-ha
No ''native" is permitted to enter. You must
present your card and get ticket There Is
music every day in the concert-hall by eighty
musicians Everything is free You need not
are eight tables. The gambling begins
at noon and continues until II P. NJ. every day
in the year. bought book and studied the
Pames-there are only two, roulette and
AS many may play at table as can gather
around it. Every body bets against the bank.
AT the first game lroulette) you must bet five
francs or over. At the other not less twenty
francs. The bank has eight men at each table.
At times fifty will be betting at each table. and
they play three games perhaps. minute.
Some make every bet as high as two, three or
four hundred francs. Several times l the
Zero" when it seemed to me they ''raked
| in" with real rakes, at least a
quart of gold the games seem to require no
| skill in playing. being pure hazard. At roulette
u
| from one to thirty-sx. At the other, that the
| first card dealt will be red or black, etc. The
| bank plays fair, but it has an neutrality-suspicious.
| say of about 3 per cent, some say more. But
| at per cent it pays There are eight tables
| If they play three times a minute it is "a per
cent. Ii the betters put up only 800 each time
on each table, it is s., 400 minute $144. coo
per hour over million dollars per day.
course this is mere figuring, but in
| fact, the banks do make millions, which shows
| how certain a thing it is. Women are the
| swiftest betters l saw one woman bet hun
| dred francs for an hour on every turn Of the
| wheel with as much serious anxiety as If she
] were engaged in some noble work. Others toss
their gold coins down with the most careless air,
never stopping low conversation with friend
| but to take up their winnings. Suicides are
common. Cranks come every day with secret
plans to break the bank; syndicates arc formed
to break it, but still it goes 1t gave &c, 00C
francs to the victims of the earthquake. I,
gives to every charity. 1t pays the bishop even.
1t is the perfection of vice.
There no taxes in this Empire of Mon
AGO." and no beggars. No liquor is sold in the
casino. nor in any hotels except wth meals
| There is a fine police force little standing
army, palace a fire department., postof6ce de-
livery to every house, etc.
The accounts telegraphcd America Of the
| earthquakes were greatly exaggerated Here
| saw many families still living in tents--some
because they were afraid to 60 back to their
| homes. some because their homes were in ruins
There is no suffering Last night, at 10 p. NJ
the thermometer stood at CO., We sleep with
our window opening out over the sea. Over
coats are not worn. We bought half dozer
oranges in the Monaco market, raised in thu
palace garden. for cents. The hotels are very
good. But cigars! good one costs % cents
You can only get them of the waiter who chap
pens to have few" presume they are SNUG
gled, for he is careful about who is present wher
he sells them.
The houses are made of rough stone and GOV
cred with plaster. Here about Genoa the WALL
are painted with bright red colors, frescoed lik,
scenic painting in a theater. All the way dowl
we ran along by the sea. Sometimes we wer
on top of ground and sometimes under Their
are more tunnels than miles.
am weary Of old churches, but saw a Ro
man tower. the other day, built A. D. IL ma,
always been taught that this warm languid eli
mate did not produce vigorous men, but il
truth Columbus, Cesar, Garibaldi and Gambet
ia were born along this shore-Napoleon over il
Corsica, O few miles out in the sea-
|